Relationship between residual visual field and full-field stimulus testing in patients with late-stage retinal degenerative diseases

This study aimed to investigate how the extent and central/peripheral location of the residual visual field (VF) in patients with late-stage inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) are related to retinal sensitivity detected using full-field stimulus testing (FST). We reviewed the results of Goldmann perimetry and FST from the medical records of patients with IRDs whose VF represents central (within 10°) and/or peripheral islands, or undetectable. In total, 19 patients (19 eyes) were analyzed in this study. The median value of residual VF area was 1.38%. The median values of rod and cone sensitivities were − 14.9 dB and 7.4 dB, respectively. Patients with only the peripheral island (− 33.9 dB) had better median rod sensitivity than other groups (only central, − 18.9 dB; both, − 3.6 dB). VF area significantly correlated with rod sensitivity (r = − 0.943, p = 0.005) in patients with only peripheral island, but not with cone sensitivity. Peripheral VF islands were significant contributors to FST results, especially rod sensitivity. With reduced or loss of central vision, the extent of residual peripheral VF significantly affected rod sensitivity, suggesting that FST can be useful in quantitatively estimating the overall remaining vision in patients with late-stage IRD.